


The Domino City Limit

by TheMangosity



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Ancient Egypt, Drama, Duel Monsters, Dueling, Gen, Suspense, domino city, hang gliders, kaiba just wants to duel, so much plot twist you wouldn't believe, yugi just wants to hang glide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-09 18:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3260549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMangosity/pseuds/TheMangosity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yugi has always been a hang gliding fanatic. He convinces Kaiba to combine Duel Monsters and hang gliding, and they have the world's first Sky Duel. Ch2: Kaiba makes the ultimate sacrifice, on a hang glider, no less. Ch3: The pharaoh remembers a key detail of his past. Ch4: Yugi and Atem go back to set everything right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Domino City Limit

**Author's Note:**

> _I originally posted this on FanFiction.Net on 9-12-2014._

Yugi remembers a time when Duel Monsters was a twinkle in his eye and pudgy hands flipped through  _Domino Drift_  magazine. The men and women who made it onto that cover each month were his idols, and he hoped to someday make it there himself.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, the way Grandpa and his medical budget saw it), Yugi never saved up enough allowance money to buy a hang glider for himself. Grounded though he was, he always kept an admiring eye to the skies. There was never a moment when he couldn't look to the Domino sky and catch a glimpse of vibrant hues and well-used hang gliders.

Those days are gone. Yugi doesn't know how it happened, but the age of the hang gliders has passed. It seemed like one day his heroes were taming the skies and forging their place in the clouds, and the next they were gone.

He cried the day his last issue of  _Domino Drift_  came. No matter how hard he searched through those glossy pages, he could find no reason for the hasty retreat of the hang gliders. All he knew was that his passion was suddenly, utterly dead.

So when his friends finally notice the framed, faded magazine above his bed and ask him what it means, he replies, "It's a promise."

"A promise? To…be a journalist?"

Yugi laughs. Of course they wouldn't understand right away. "No, Joey. It's a promise to tame the wind. To kiss the clouds." He doesn't know when he got to his feet or when the passion leaked into his voice. "To take back the stars. To be one with the breeze." He lets his eyes fall over the skyline where a rainbow's worth of sails used to dominate the horizon. "To take to the skies."

His friends notice the change, the way he draws his shoulders back and stands up straight, making up for his lack of height with spades of determination.

Tristan scratches his head as he sets aside the bowl of Grandpa's famous nachos. "What's the promise again?"

Yugi takes back his place on the floor beside Téa, looking ready to launch into another dramatic speech, but before he can say a word, Téa places a hand on his shoulder and gazes at the other two. "Yugi has always loved hang gliders. Are you telling me you guys never noticed the final issue of _Domino Drift_  hanging on the wall?"

Joey and Tristan shake their heads, and Yugi snorts. "It's always been there." He places a hand on his chest. "And hang gliding has always been close to my heart."

"Wow," Joey says. "Yug', if you love hang gliding so much, why don't you go out and do it?"

Yugi's eyes grow distant. "It's been a long time since there were any hang gliders in Domino City, Joey."

"Hey, don't look so sad," Téa says. She bumps his shoulder with her own. "You've done plenty of amazing things, and you're the guy who solved the Millennium Puzzle." She points to the gleaming artifact around his neck, and he places a hand on it almost automatically. "If you can do that, you can bring hang gliding back to this city."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah," Tristan says around a mouthful of nachos. He swallows. "Don't sweat it, man. You've got this, and we'll be right there to back you up."

"Especially if you fall out of the sky and someone has to call an ambulance," Joey adds. The other two stare at him ruefully. "What? I'm just saying."

Even as Téa chastises Joey for jinxing Yugi's first flight, Yugi smiles at his friends' support. If they believe in him, then he believes in himself as well.

He eyes the framed  _Domino Drift_  with new resolve. The years of waiting to fulfill his promise are over. The age of the hang gliders is back, and it starts with him.

The pharaoh just gives a long-suffering sigh.

* * *

_You and Kaiba are going to die._

"We are not." Yugi adjusts his harness and checks his windmeter. "Roland drew up the safety protocols himself. We'll be fine."

_All the safety protocols in the world won't keep you from crashing and burning._

"Sure they will. That's why they're called safety protocols. You worry too much."

_Maybe you worry too little._

Any retort swirling around in Yugi's head dies as the earpiece within his helmet clicks and Roland's voice trickles through. "Master Kaiba, Master Yugi, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear," Yugi responds. He can't help but sound like more of a happy schoolboy than usual.

On the opposite end of the expansive roof, Kaiba growls, though Yugi can't see it. "Can we get on with this? I didn't develop this technology to sit up here all day doing nothing."

Yugi could swear that Kaiba is just excited as he is and that Roland is fighting not to laugh. "Of course, sir."

The intercoms scattered around the roof burst to life, and Yugi grips the padded metal rail in anticipation.

"The world's first Sky Duel will now commence," Roland shouts. His voice carries nicely on the wind, just as Yugi intends to. "Duelists, engage Duel Gliders."

The crowd that's gathered at the stadium behind KaibaCorp shouts its approval, and Yugi's heart flutters. Somewhere in that throng of people are his grandfather and his friends. He won't let them down.

_I hope you know you're dueling on your own today._

"And I hope you know I wouldn't let you play this duel for the world."

_Glad we understand one another._

With practiced hands, Yugi slips his deck into the shuffler and flips the switch. The clear panel outfitted into the rail flickers on no differently than a standard dueling platform. The only difference is the added touch panel, where his hand displays in a shimmer of colors.

"Duelists, ready?"

"Ready," Yugi and Kaiba shout together.

"Then let the game begin!"

Horns blare and streamers fly and Yugi knows the crowd must be cheering like crazy, but he doesn't hear a sound. This is his moment. He jams his thumb down onto the red button set into the rail, and the automatic launcher flings him off the top of KaibaCorp. Before he knows it, the whole of Domino City is stretched out before him like the most beautiful panoramic painting in the world. He's free, alone but for the pharaoh, the wind, the endless horizon and--

Panic coils around his insides, flooding his mind, and it's all he can do to keep a firm grip on the rail. He's never felt fear this intense, but it isn't his own.

_Yugi!_

"Pharaoh?" Yugi hasn't seen him this afraid since the time Joey dropped the Millennium Puzzle into the sea and it almost dashed against the rocks. "What's wrong?"

_I'm...I'm remembering something from my past._

"What?" It might be a happier occasion if they weren't sailing miles above the city. "Can we talk about this later?"

_No. Yugi, you have to understand. I--_

A draft catches Yugi off-guard and he has to turn sharply, the city tilting at a 90-degree angle. For the first time since they've been together, the pharaoh screams in utter terror.

Once he's righted himself Yugi shouts, "Okay! What's wrong?"

_I'm afraid of heights!_

"What? Are you serious right now?"

_Deadly._

As if Yugi didn't have enough problems to deal with, Kaiba comes over the intercom sounding a lot more exhilarated than usual. "It's your move, Yugi. Don't keep me waiting."

Thinking fast, Yugi jerks his head up to spare his friend the sight of the faraway pavement. "Pharaoh, I promise we'll talk about this later, but for now you should get in the Puzzle. You won't notice the height in there."

_R-Right. Yugi?_

"Yeah?"

_I'm sorry._

Yugi smiles. "It's all right. Now go before you give us a nervous breakdown."

Once the pharaoh's presence is humming dormant in the Puzzle, Yugi returns his attention to the duel at hand. He examines his cards, and after a few swipes and gestures, Curse of Dragon bursts to life in the sky-level field behind two facedown cards. Kaiba's aerojectors make the monsters look more realistic than ever. From the way the crowd cheers, the holograms on the ground-level field in the stadium look just as spectacular.

Yugi banks his hang glider to trace the southern edge of KaibaCorp. "It's your move, Kaiba!"

Kaiba doesn't need telling twice. He dips sharply and swoops beneath the sky-level field, maneuvering expertly so that Yugi has a clear view of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon adorning his sail. Then he soars above the stands and does a lap around the stadium, angled just right so that the crowd can see the blue and silver colors. Cheers and whistles ring out as Kaiba begins his ascent back to the skies. Yugi snorts, but gives a genuine smile nonetheless. Kaiba always did have a special touch when it came to theatrical flair.

By the time he's back at Yugi's level, Kaiba has managed to summon two dragons and activate Soul Exchange. Yugi knows what he's going to do. The message was loud and clear, engraved in the cloth of his sail. Kaiba must have had an amazing first hand.

"I activate Soul Exchange to tribute your Curse of Dragon, along with my Vanguard Dragon and Luster Dragon." The crowd must have figured out what move Kaiba plans to make, as the stadium begins to roar. "Prepare to set eyes on my ultimate monster: the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appears in a swirl of shimmering, blue-silver light, the most brilliant display Yugi has ever seen from a Duel Monsters hologram. Although the Blue-Eyes on the ground-level field stays put like it normally would, on the sky-level field it jets out of the light and up into the sky, the elegant silver scales on its back shimmering blue in the sun. It takes no effort for the dragon to beat its wings and climb nearly to the highest cloud. After blocking out the sun, it arches its back and fans out its wings and lets out a mighty roar.

The crowd loves it. After drifting over the stadium so that its shadow slinks over the awed spectators, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon does a back flip and zips back to its master. It takes up Kaiba's rear, tailing his every move.

"It looks like your Life Points are wide open, Yugi," Kaiba taunts, looking more than comfortable on his hang glider. "I'd be worried if I were you."

"This duel is far from over!"

"We'll see." Kaiba takes his hand from the rail and jabs a finger at Yugi. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his Life Points directly with White Lightning Attack!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon draws its neck back and gathers crackling light in its mouth just as Roland's frantic voice comes over the line.

"Master Kaiba! We forgot to run tests on direct damage with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The White Lightning Attack might be too powerful for Master Yugi's hang glider to handle! You need to call off the attack right away!"

"What?" Kaiba shouts. "Are you serious right now?"

"Deadly."

Kaiba growls and then shouts, "Blue-Eyes, stop!"

But it's too late. The attack has already launched straight for Yugi and his Millennium Puzzle hang glider.

It's a good thing Yugi has his own set of tricks up his sleeve.

"I activate Dragon Capture Jar!"

One of his two facedown cards lifts to reveal Kaiba's most hated card. Just before the attack would rip through Yugi, the jar rips the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the sky and seals it away.

Yugi wipes an arm over his forehead as the crowd cheers at his quick thinking.

Kaiba is not so happy. "Roland, you realize this is grounds for firing, right?"

Roland clears his throat. "Yes, sir." Then he quickly adds, "We can lower the realism for the remainder of the duel, if you want."

"It's all right, Roland," Yugi cuts in. He smirks. The pharaoh would be so proud. "It won't be a problem."

* * *

"Okay, Pharaoh. Spill."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Yugi folds his arms and glares as the pharaoh materializes cross-legged on his bed. "Really? You're going to play that?"

The pharaoh looks down and plays with a thread on the edge of Yugi's sheet, or at least he would if his finger didn't go through it. "How did it go?"

"Fine," Yugi replies flatly. "Summoned Buster Blader at the last minute. Gained 5000 extra Attack Points from all Kaiba's dragons in the graveyard. Activated Dark Hole to be safe. Took out his ultimate Dragon and his Life Points with a hundred points to spare."

"I've always wanted to get ten dragons in his graveyard for Buster Blader's special effect. You did well."

"Thanks." The evening breeze streams in through the window and tousles Yugi's hair as he sits on the bed beside the pharaoh. "Seriously. What happened out there? I was really worried."

He continues to play with the thread, and since Yugi doesn't have the excuse that he'll tear his sheets to shreds, he doesn't make him stop. "I remembered that I was afraid of heights."

"I know. I was there." The pharaoh doesn't say anything for a long time. Yugi doesn't think he ever intends to speak. "But I don't get it. Haven't we dueled on a glass ceiling before?"

"Yes."

"And what about KaibaCraft 3? We duel on the deck all the time." Yugi can think of plenty of times when the pharaoh has had to duel somewhere high up, not to mention the roof of a moving train that sped through a winding canyon, but Yugi knows better than to bring that up.

"I know, Yugi." The tension leaves his shoulders and he finally meets Yugi's eyes. "Those other duels were different. I wasn't high enough and I was dueling for my friends. But today…" The pharaoh pauses and Yugi knows he's reliving the moment. "Being that high made me remember something from a long time ago. I was with my parents."

Yugi gasps. "You remember your parents?"

"No. I can't remember what they look like. I only know that they were there." Yugi hears the sadness in the pharaoh's voice, feels it in his own chest.

"I'm sorry."

"But I do remember that we were in a...glider."

Yugi blinks. "Wait, really? You had hang gliders back then?"

"Not a hang glider. A glider glider. A sailplane. Like the one Kaiba has."

"Oh. You mean the Toon Dragon?"

Kaiba probably wouldn't take kindly to Yugi calling it that, but that's exactly what it looked like. He remembers the first time he set eyes on it when Kaiba did a fly-by over Burger World. It looked similar to the Blue-Eyes jet only smaller and obscenely cuter. He knew who it was the moment he set eyes on it, and he never saw it again after that day. Joey thought that the Duel Monsters projector fumes were going to Kaiba's head again, and Yugi was inclined to agree.

"Yes," the pharaoh says. "Like that, only ours was painted gold."

Yugi's mind races with questions he knows the pharaoh can't answer, and so he settles with, "You had  _sailplanes_  back then?"

"I'm not sure about the details. I know it seems impossible, but I know I was in a sailplane with my parents. That much is clear."

"And…" Yugi pauses to word it right in his head. "You were afraid?"

The pharaoh nods, deep in thought. "I was on my mother's lap and I looked out the window. We were flying over the Nile." He shudders visibly. "It was terrifying. I think I've been afraid of heights ever since."

Yugi waits for the memories to leave the pharaoh's eyes before saying, "Thank you for telling me that. I'm glad you're starting to remember something about your past."

"But it isn't enough."

"It's not much," Yugi agrees, "but at least we have something to go on."

The pharaoh sees the gears turning in Yugi's head, feels them, rather. "What are you planning, Yugi?" he asks with the barest of smiles.

Yugi turns and grins. "Kaiba was willing to develop Duel Gliders. Why not Duel Glider Gliders?" The pharaoh looks amused but unconvinced, and Yugi's gaze softens. "If we go up in an actual glider, it might jog your memory. Maybe you'll remember more of the details."

"I suppose," the pharaoh says at length. "It's worth trying."

"Of course it is," Yugi says. He's determined like he was all those weeks ago when his friends encouraged him to pursue hang gliding. "We're going to overcome your fear of heights and recover your memories, and we're going to do it together."

The pharaoh doesn't say anything for a while, and then he flashes a thumbs up. "Right." He smirks and adds, "As long as we don't have to ride in the Toon Dragon."

The pharaoh doesn't wait for Yugi to answer and fades back into the Puzzle.

Yugi's eyes fall over the framed issue of  _Domino Drift_. It used to represent his promise to take to the skies and honor his heroes. Now it represents his promise to take to the skies and help his friend recover his lost memories.

"I won't let you down," he says aloud.

Outside, the breeze picks up and a cluster of leaves hits his window. Yugi makes certain that the pharaoh is deep enough in the Puzzle before grinning and grabbing his helmet off its hook. There's still just enough time left in the day to challenge Kaiba to one more Sky Duel. 

* * *

_Next time on "The Domino City Limit," we turn our eyes to a different sky. What would have happened had Yugi not drawn the correct card to stop the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack?_


	2. A Different Sky: Fall of an Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaiba makes the ultimate sacrifice, on a hang glider, no less.

The wind caresses Yugi's hang glider as he bobs gently on the wind, staring down one of the most powerful beasts in all of Duel Monsters: the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Its master sits in his hang glider with far more confidence than his couple months of training should afford, Yugi notes, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"It looks like your Life Points are wide open, Yugi," Kaiba shouts. "I'd be worried if I were you."

Yugi meets that arrogance with equal determination. "This duel is far from over!"

Kaiba smiles a wide, malicious grin. "We'll see." He directs his monster's attack with a jab of his finger. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his Life Points directly with White Lightning Attack!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon arches its neck, crackling electricity gathering in its mouth as Roland's frantic voice comes over the line. "Master Kaiba!" It's a far cry from his usual, professional manner of speech. "We forgot to run tests on direct damage with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The White Lightning Attack might be too powerful for Master Yugi's hang glider to handle! You need to call off the attack right away!"

"What?" Kaiba shouts. "Are you serious right now?"

"Deadly."

Kaiba growls before shouting, "Blue-Eyes, stop!"

But it's too late. The attack has already launched straight for Yugi and his Millennium Puzzle hang glider.

Yugi's eyes widen and he scours his hand for something he can use, but there's nothing that can stop the attack. His two facedown cards are Dark Hole and Rising Energy, and so his only option is to run.

He shifts his weight and rides the northbound current toward KaibaCorp, hoping to pick up speed and dodge the attack. It works, but the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is persistent. It charges up for another attack, and Yugi knows he won't be able to dodge it a second time.

If this is how he's meant to die, he accepts it without question. He believes in the Heart of the Cards. He believes in the Spirit on the Wind. Whatever is meant to happen today will play out as it should, and if he's meant to die in a freak hang glider accident while playing Duel Monsters, so be it.

He has only a fraction of a second to react to the blue-white blur outside his vision. His heart sinks as he realizes what Kaiba plans to do.

"No!" he shouts, but there's nothing he can do. Kaiba collides with Yugi from below and upends his hang glider, and Yugi whirls out of the line of attack, but he isn't far enough away to escape the shockwaves. He barrels out of control, tumbling over and over, fighting to regain control of his Duel Glider, but it's a fruitless effort.

He sees stars as he crashes hang-glider-first into one of the upper floors of KaibaCorp. The window shrieks and rips through his sail, but the metal frame is strong, and his harness almost holds him well enough to fend off injury.

When Yugi next opens his eyes, his arms are extended out before him on a blue, carpeted surface sprinkled with glass. He flexes his fingers. Somehow he knows where he is without looking around. He's been in here enough times over the past few weeks to recognize it. 34th floor, third door to the left past the Blue-Eyes mural. It's Kaiba's office.

He's landed in an uncomfortable position against the wall, and what's left of his hang glider has his feet pinned painfully. His dazed mind wonders if the various Duel Glider schematics still lie sprawled across Kaiba's desk, that is, until his eyes focus on the shattered window. The sky's eternal expanse of blue is broken up only by the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and a lone figure hurtling toward the ground in a nosedive.

Yugi's trembling hands dart to unbuckle his harness and he bites past the pain that explodes in his arm.

_Yugi._

He wrenches his leg out from under the Duel Glider and untangles himself from the frame. Unable to stand, he crawls to the edge of the window.

_Yugi, don't look._

He sees Roland's men rushing frantically to inflate the emergency airbag, but it's too late. Yugi knows they're not going to make it in time.

The nosedive turns to a tailspin, blue and silver fluttering in the breeze for the last time, and Yugi's throat tightens. His eyes begin to burn.

"Kaiba!"

_Oh no._

* * *

Yugi doesn't remember the moment Kaiba smashed against the concrete. The pharaoh took control at the last second and pushed him to a far corner of his mind. He remembers shoving back and trying to regain control, but just as before with his Duel Glider, it was a battle he couldn't win. The pharaoh wouldn't budge, wouldn't let him see.

They say he died on impact.

When Yugi finally saw the wreck on television later that week, his breath hitched and his grandfather put an arm across his shoulders, but he didn't cry. When Roland made a tearful statement in which he poured his heart out and apologized for not running tests with a direct White Lightning Attack, Yugi retreated into himself and let his mind mix with the pharaoh's, but he still didn't cry. The day Mokuba's young face appeared on screen as he addressed the press for the first time, Yugi quietly excused himself, locked himself in his room, and cried for what he had done.

It was he who had approached Kaiba with the idea to combine hang gliding and Duel Monsters, he who had spent countless hours helping Kaiba flesh out designs and play mechanics. Without him, Kaiba never would have thought to develop the Duel Gliders.

He would never be able to take back his part in the death of Seto Kaiba.

Ever since that day, Yugi hasn't been able to track the passing of time. Each day bleeds into the next, and a revolving door of faces comes to visit him.

"It's not the end of the world, man. You're going to get through this."

"Grandpa says you're not eating, so I brought you a burger from work."

"Your friends are worried about you, Yugi. You should go out with them and try to take your mind off things."

"Yug'." The voice is so sad that it's enough to make Yugi focus just a little bit. "You can't stay in here forever. We're going down to the arcade. We all want you to come with us."

"No thank you."

Joey groans and kneels beside Yugi's chair. "Yugi, come on. Look at me." It seems like he wants to say  _Look at yourself_. "Kaiba was…not my friend." Yugi flinches at the name and forces himself to meet Joey's eyes. "I hated him and he hated me, but I'll be the first one to stand up for him if anyone ever says he wasn't a great man. He was a better person than any of us thought, any of us except  _you_. You believed in him, Yugi. You thought of him as a friend when no one else did, and he knew it." Yugi bites back tears, but he doesn't look away. "He sacrificed himself that day because he didn't want to see you crash and burn. I know you feel like it was your fault. I would feel the same way, but Kaiba showed his true colors that day. He was there for you when you really needed him. Do you get it?"

Yugi's eyes trail away and he doesn't say anything for a long time. "I understand," he says quietly. "But it's not going to be okay for a while."

Joey pats him on the back and heads for the door. "You'll be okay. Just give it time."

After Joey has gone, a tingling sensation blossoms at his back--the pharaoh's ghostly attempt to console him. "He's right." Yugi doesn't budge, and so he continues. "Kaiba must have valued your friendship, even after everything he said." His voice softens. "And it doesn't do his sacrifice justice for you to stay hidden away in your room."

"I know," Yugi whispers. "But I can't face him."

"Who?"

The wind sends a bird crashing against his window, and Yugi starts. It slides down the glass, its body limp and lifeless, and Yugi knows that it's dead. He curls deeply into the chair. "Mokuba."

* * *

The next day, a knock sounds at Yugi's door, and he flinches. He knows who has come to see him. It reverberates in the knock and in the hollow space left in its wake, but Yugi can't face him. He's not ready. "Can you get it?" he begs, but the pharaoh doesn't even consider his request.

_You have to take this step on your own._

The knock sounds again, and Yugi gets up from his place at his desk.

 _But you won't really be on your own._ The pharaoh's presence hovers on the edge of his mind.  _You can do it._

The sight of Mokuba Kaiba standing in his doorway is almost enough to break him. His eyes are puffy from grief or lack of sleep, and his hair is half the length it used to be.

"I could have had Roland come, but I wanted to tell you myself," he says quickly, as if he practiced saying it on the way up the stairs. He hesitates just a bit. "You were in Seto's will."

Yugi's throat dries up, but he manages a thin, " _Me_?"

"Yeah." Mokuba pulls a manila folder out from under his arm and offers it out to him. "Everything's in here, including Roland's phone number. You'll…really want to call him."

"Oh. O-Okay." Something twists in Yugi's gut as he meets the young boy's eyes. "Mokuba--"

"I don't blame you for what happened, Yugi," Mokuba says, and Yugi clamps his mouth shut. "Seto did what he did because…because you were his best friend." Mokuba's eyes grow glassy, and Yugi can feel his own eyes misting up as well. "He never told anyone, not even me, but I knew."

"Are…are you sure?" Yugi asks, his voice a whisper.

"Yeah. I know my brother."

A lump comes to Yugi's throat, but he pushes through it. For the first time in three weeks, he feels some semblance of peace. "Thank you, Mokuba."

Mokuba smiles. Then he turns and waves. "I've got to get back to deal with some stuff. I'll see you later."

Yugi watches him descend the stairs for a moment before closing the door and easing himself into his desk chair. He reaches out to break the adhesive with trembling hands, but hesitates halfway to getting it open.

"Go ahead," the pharaoh says. He materializes on the edge of Yugi's desk with his arms folded. "We'll face it together."

Inside are two envelops numbered "1" and "2," along with an achingly familiar magazine.

It's the last issue of  _Domino Drift_.

"I don't understand," Yugi whispers. It's in mint condition, as if its pages haven't seen the light of day since 1987.

"It must have belonged to him," the pharaoh says. "It…makes sense that he would want to give it to you."

"Sort of," Yugi says. He flips through to the first page and a folded piece of paper falls out that says "From Mokuba."

_My brother didn't actually leave this to you, but I know he would have wanted you to have it. I don't know if he ever actually told you this, but he really liked to look at the gliders too. It was one of the only things that made him happy back when we were living with Gozaburo. He also would have wanted me to tell you that it was Gozaburo who made them go away._

Yugi grips the paper. With anger? Sadness? He doesn't know.

_They messed with his plans to bring an aerial weapons' program into the city, so he got a lot of laws passed that made it almost impossible to hang glide within Domino City limits. When Seto took over KaibaCorp, he tracked down a lot of the people who used to hang glide, but by the time he found them all, their hearts weren't in it anymore. I want you to know that you made him really happy when you came to him with your Duel Glider idea. I know you blame yourself for what happened, but please don't. My brother was happy for the first time since taking over KaibaCorp. He actually started smiling again. Thank you for that._

_Sincerely,_

_Mokuba_

Yugi reads the note a second time. He doesn't know if it made him feel better or worse.

He sets it aside so he doesn't have to think about it and reaches for the first envelope.

_Dear Yugi:_

_If you're reading this, it means I died without defeating you at Duel Monsters._

Yugi stiffens. It's a letter from Kaiba.

"You don't have to read it now if you're not ready," the pharaoh says quietly.

Yugi shakes his head. "I have to. If I don't read it now, I don't know if I'll ever have the courage."

The pharaoh nods, and they continue to read.

 _I hope you never have to get this letter, but in case I die before the age of 25, there are some things you should know. It's only through the thick veil of death that I find myself able to admit any of this to you._ _Just don't think I've gone soft._

_First off, tell your grandfather that I'm sorry for everything that happened between us. I was a different person back then. My stepfather's evil hadn't quite left me, and it made me do things I would never imagine doing otherwise. Don't take that as an excuse. I take full responsibility for my actions that day. It makes me cringe to think that I ever lifted a finger to harm the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I realize now that your grandfather was never going to use that card in a duel, much less sell it to some unworthy duelist with deep pockets. He would have kept it safe and he probably would have given it to you someday, but that's exactly what I was afraid of. I didn't even know you back then and already I was worried that you would best me. I was obsessed with being the best. I still am obsessed with being the best. I don't know if that will ever change._

_As for your King of Games title, well played, Yugi. You managed to fend me off until I died. I know I don't have to tell you this, but for a while, it crushed me to lose to you. I knew I shouldn't have been such a sore loser, but_ _it was always so painful, and I wanted so badly to be the King of Games._ _I even tried believing in the heart of the cards once and I still didn't win (if you tell anyone, especially Wheeler, shame on you)._

Yugi smiles and the pharaoh takes over. They both want to read the rest, and this way they won't have to deal with meddlesome, blinding tears.

 _I used to think_ _I couldn't win because I wasn't a worthy duelist, but I've come to a point where I see that's not true._ _You've always thought I was a worthy opponent, and r_ _ealizing that you never thought I was a lower-class duelist has made losing just a little easier._

 _Nothing I've said excuses what I said after the semi-final match at Battle City. I don't remember what I said there at the top of the duel tower, but I know it was wrong._ _I insulted you and your friends, so let them know I apologize for that moment._

 _Most importantly, please take care of Mokuba. He really likes you, and he's already halfway to thinking of you as a second brother._   _Nothing could fill the void if I ever lost him, but he's stronger than I am._ _He's already had to suffer so much loss in his life. Help see him through this time. You're the perfect person to help guide him on his way._

_That's it, Yugi. I've apologized for everything I can think of and told you everything I could never say while I was alive._

_Thank you for being the most worthy opponent I've ever faced in my life. It was an honor to duel you so many times. Keep your duelist fire burning strong. I might be gone, but there will always be another person scheming to steal that title of yours. I don't know what I believe about life after death, but I think we will meet again, and that's when we'll settle the score. Until then, stay strong._

The next line is written over a messy coat of whiteout.

"I'm sure he could have done a better job to hide it than that," the pharaoh says quietly, running a finger over the shoddy correction job. "He must have wanted you to know that he struggled and settled with that."

_Your Rival and Your Friend,_

_Seto Kaiba_

It takes Yugi a long while to pull himself together enough to read the postscript.

_P.S._

_Dear Other Yugi:_

_I want to address you personally. So if you are real, send Yugi away. I know you can do it. It's the reason Yugi only remembers half of what I say. And if you're not real, then Yugi, wait for your other personality to come out before reading the rest. Forgive me if I'm being insensitive._

The pharaoh eyes Yugi, who disappears into the Puzzle without a word.

_Dear Other Yugi:_

_I don't believe you exist, but on the off chance that you do, sorry I didn't believe in you. You have to admit it's hard to believe that the spirit of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh possesses Yugi on a daily basis._

_In the moments when I think you might actually be real, I think of you as Yugi's older brother, and as an older brother myself, I understand. You protect him from harm's way and you duel for him when his life would be in danger. I can respect that._

_If I've died before the age of 25, I can assume it had something to do with Duel Monsters. My vehicles are too well-protected for me to die in any kind of collision, and Duel Monsters is the only thing I would ever risk my life for. I'm sure Yugi was there to see what happened, and I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant experience. He must be hurting right now, but try to keep him from moping. I don't deserve his grief. Keep him out of trouble and make sure he never loses that spark that makes him the King of Games._

_I know I was dueling you half the time, and I'm sure you know you're the slightly better duelist. There will come a day when Yugi surpasses you, and so I want to congratulate you ahead of time. I know I would be proud of Mokuba if he ever surpassed me at Duel Monsters. Give Yugi my regards when the day comes._

_After writing all that, I hope you're real. I'll see you on the other side._

_Your Rival and Your Friend if You Actually Exist,_

_Seto Kaiba_

It surprises the pharaoh that Kaiba understood such things, but at the same time it doesn't. The day Yugi surpasses him will be the proudest moment of his life. He calls to Yugi, who appears beside him in ethereal form.

"What did he say?"

"He said he was sorry he didn't believe I was real."

Yugi smiles. "Oh." He slips back into control and reaches for the second envelope, and the pharaoh frowns.

"This is upsetting you, Yugi. Are you sure you don't want to wait?"

A single look is enough to give the pharaoh his answer, and he remains silent as Yugi opens the envelope.

It contains a number of papers neatly folded together in an official manner.

"His will," the pharaoh murmurs.

Yugi feels as if he's reading something he shouldn't. On the first page is a sticky note with the words "Page 3" written in neat, slanted cursive, and somehow Yugi knows it's Roland's handwriting. On the bottom of page 3, a line of text is highlighted in blue.

_Should I perish before Mokuba comes of age, responsibility for KaibaCorp and all its assets shall fall to-_

Yugi drops the page in shock. He expected a relic from one of their old duels or even money, but never this.

_Yugi Moto._

"Calm down," the pharaoh says when Yugi starts to look like he can't breathe. "Mokuba said that Roland's phone number was in there. Perhaps he can provide an explanation."

Yugi fumbles with the folder and pours the rest of it out. He jumps when something hard slaps against the desk.

It's a flat, square-shaped metal box with another sticky note attached to it. This one was written by Mokuba.

_He told me himself that he wanted you to have these if anything ever happened to him. Take care of them._

Yugi's hands begin to tremble and the pharaoh's hand ghosts over his shoulder. They've both already guessed what lies within the box. Yugi lifts the lid to reveal the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He now owns the only three of its kind.

"Yugi," the pharaoh's says as tears return to Yugi's eyes with a vengeance, "everything will be all right."

"I know," Yugi replies with a trembling voice. He closes the box and clutches it to his chest. "It'll be fine."

He weeps for the last time.

* * *

_Next time on "The Domino City Limit," we turn our eyes yet again to another sky, this one nearly identical to the first. What if the pharaoh had remembered just one more detail about his ancient past?_


	3. A Different Sky: Flight of the Pharaoh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pharaoh remembers a key detail of his past.

 

 

 

Yugi blinks, confused as the pharaoh eyes him coolly. "Wait, really? You had hang gliders back then?" Although he's glad that the pharaoh is starting to remember something about his past, he can't help but think that today's scare might have caused him to remember things that aren't true.

"Not a hang glider," the pharaoh replies, patient in the face of Yugi's skepticism. "A glider. A sailplane. Like the one Kaiba has."

"Oh. You mean the Toon Dragon?"

If Kaiba knew that that's what Yugi called it, he would probably have a few choice, rageful words for him, but that's exactly what it looked like. He was sitting at Burger World the first time he caught sight of it, and he nearly choked on his fries. It was like a cuter version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet, and he knew that only Kaiba would ever fly such a thing. Joey was under the impression that Kaiba had been huffing the Duel Monsters projector fumes again, and Yugi could only agree.

"Yes," the pharaoh says. "Like the Toon Dragon, only ours was painted gold." He seems to remember something else. "And shaped like a bird."

This triggers something in Yugi's mind. Perhaps there's some truth in the pharaoh's story after all. "A glider shaped like a bird? I…I think I've heard of something like that before."

"You think it has something to do with my memory?"

"Yeah. It was in one of Grandpa's books." Yugi jumps up from the bed. "Come on. We can go look at it right now." They head downstairs to the special bookcase where Yugi's grandfather keeps his Egyptology books.

"Yeah, I'm starting to remember," Yugi says as he scans the titles. "It's called the 'Saqqara Bird.' It's a little wooden bird that they found in an ancient tomb, but nobody really knows what it was used for. Ring any bells?"

"Not in the slightest," the pharaoh replies. He doesn't seem at all convinced that this bird has anything to do with his life, but his eyes flicker with amusement nonetheless. Yugi pouts a little. Sure, this isn't the first time he's brought them over here on a wild goose chase, but he feels sure about this one.

He pulls a book from the shelf entitled  _Pharaohs and Sparrows: Animal Imagery in Ancient Egypt_ , and begins to leaf through the pages. "I was watching a…very credible program, and they mentioned that it could have been a model of a glider they had in real life. Here it is!"

He points to a picture in the book and reads from the paragraph beside it. "'Some Egyptologists believe that the Saqqara Bird is actually a small-scale model of a glider that really existed. If this were true, it would mean that ancient Egyptians had far more sophisticated knowledge of aerodynamics than was previously thought.' See? Why don't you take a look for yourself?"

Yugi switches places with the pharaoh, who looks at the picture with mild interest. Then his eyes widen. "Is it possible?"

"What is it?"

"This is the glider…the glider from my memory."

"Really? That's amazing--"

The pharaoh grunts and clutches at his head, his knees crashing against the carpet.

"Pharaoh?" Yugi calls, but it seems he can't hear him. "Pharaoh, are you all right?" Then Yugi feels it too. Something races up his spine, and his mind fills with sights and sounds and colors that he can't explain. They collide with one another to form a maddening wall of stimulation, and Yugi thinks he's about to go crazy. Maybe he already has.

He can sense the pharaoh's attempts to sort through it, to make sense of it all, and he lends his support to the struggle. They work together to complete the puzzle, and bit by bit Yugi gets the feeling that this is more important than anything he has ever done, greater than even his own life.

"My…name," the pharaoh mutters, and Yugi realizes all at once that they're piecing together the pharaoh's memory.

He doubles his effort. The ground goes there and the sky doesn't belong in that tree. Grass doesn't grow on the ceiling and horses shouldn't be walking on the walls.

The book, which fell to the ground at some point neither of them remembers, flips back open violently and the pages begin to turn on their own, as if a draft suddenly picked up in the middle of the study.

"My  _name_ …"

The pharaoh grows more frantic, reaching through the memories and trying to pick out that most vital part of himself that he's fought to reclaim for all these years. Yugi doesn't know if he can expend any more of his energy, but he doesn't care. He'll do whatever it takes to finally have a name to call his best friend.

Barges don't sail through the ground and birds aren't supposed to fly upside down. The sun doesn't dominate the night and the gliders…gliders? Yes. The gliders belong in the sky.

The book falls flat on the page with the Saqqara Bird, and a woman's voice echoes in Yugi's head. She speaks a language he doesn't understand, yet he understands it all the same.

_It's all right. Your father knows how to drive. Don't be afraid, my little--_

The pharaoh's eyes shoot open.

"My name is Atem!" he shouts.

The book soars into the air and glows with a golden light, which bathes the entire room before rushing at Yugi in a concentrated beam. It takes his breath away and he crumbles to the floor. All at once he's back in control of his own body, and the pharaoh's heart beats a fraction of a second after his. It scares Yugi half to death. Their hearts have always beaten as one.

The pharaoh says something, his voice rising desperately in the end, but Yugi can't understand.  _Why_  can't he understand? He tries to get to his feet, but the world is spinning and he can't right himself. He collapses onto his back and clutches at the Millennium Puzzle. Something is wrong. The Eye burns against his hand.

More troubling, the pharaoh's presence is nowhere to be found. He calls out to him with his spirit. He must be hiding in an unexplored corner or a room Yugi doesn't know about. The pharaoh always answers his calls, and this time is no different. The pharaoh rushes to meet him as if he too had lost track of Yugi somehow. When the gears in their bond are turning yet again, Yugi lets himself relax. He's inexplicably tired, and the last thing he sees is the Saqqara Bird flying straight for his face.

* * *

Pharaoh Atem wakes to find Yugi sprawled out in the middle of Grandpa's study with  _Pharaohs and Sparrows_ lying across his face. His first thought is that Yugi fell asleep again while trying to find something that would jog his memory.

Then reality catches up with him.

He and Yugi are no longer one. It isn't entirely true. He can still feel Yugi's unconscious mind dancing on the edge of his own. At least that hasn't changed.

Other than that, it's an entirely different game. He takes a moment to look himself over, and he can't understand how it's possible. He is as he was five thousand years ago, royal garb and everything. Even that scar on the back of his hand from the time he and Mahaad got into that fight is there. Everything is as he remembers, and he does remember.

He traces a finger over the lines in his hand and balls it into a fist. He will never lose himself again.

He comes back to the present where Yugi is still knocked senseless with a book over his face, and he scrambles over to help him.

"Yugi," Atem calls, pulling the book away. "Wake up."

Yugi groans and Atem prepares himself to not be recognized, but when Yugi opens his eyes, he only seems mildly confused.

"Pharaoh?" he whispers, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Atem," corrects the pharaoh, and Yugi smiles. He makes to sit up but winces as he does so.

"Are you hurt?"

Yugi rubs his hands over his face. "I feel like I just ran into a wall."

"You're not far off," Atem says. He shows Yugi the book in his hands. "This is…quite heavy." He wouldn't be surprised if Yugi's face bruised later.

Yugi stares from the pharaoh to the book to the pharaoh again. Atem can sense the questions bubbling up in his mind.  _Did your memory come back?_   _What was that light? How do you have your own body?_  He settles with, "What happened?"

Atem cracks the book open and turns to the picture of the Saqqara Bird. He doesn't think he'll forget the page number for as long as he lives. "When I saw this, it broke the spell." He'll have to explain that to Yugi later. They'll need to be prepared to deal with the consequences. "The 'Saqqara Bird' isn't just any bird. It's a falcon, the symbol of Ra." He crosses his legs and props his chin on his hand, turning to the next page where there's a larger photo. "Whoever thought this was a glider was absolutely correct. It was in my family for generations. I wish you could have seen it. My great-grandfather built it as a symbol of his status as the living Horus. Are you all right, Yugi?"

"Yeah," Yugi manages. He never thought he'd see a five-thousand-year-old pharaoh use an Egyptology textbook for a photo album. "Then your memory really has come back?"

Atem smiles. "Yes. My memories have all returned, but I wouldn't have been able to piece them together if it hadn't been for you."

"You really think so?"

"Of course. This might seem strange, but…" He looks around and leans in closer. "…puzzles aren't my strong suit."

Yugi's snort turns to full-blown laughter, laughter that Atem can't help but join in on. Yugi is glad that finding himself hasn't caused the pharaoh to lose his horrible sense of humor.

The tears that prickle at the corners of Yugi's eyes aren't entirely from laughing. "I can't believe we finally know your name," he says. He tests it out a couple times and grins. "That's a good name. I like it."

"Me too."

Without warning, Yugi reaches a finger out to poke repeatedly at Atem's chest.

"Um, Yugi, may I help you?" the pharaoh asks, though he's grinning slightly.

"That still doesn't explain this." Unconsciously, he places a hand on the puzzle. "I hope I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but why do you suddenly have your own body?"

Atem smiles and points back to the page. "We've both seen amazing things happen when Ra is involved. My memories returned when I saw the Saqqara Bird, but I believe this…" He gestures down to his solid form. "…is Ra's doing."

"Ra wanted you to have your own body?"

"Well, not exactly." Atem rubs at the back of his neck as he says, "I've always wanted to have a proper existence here with all of you. The power in Ra's symbol must have reacted to that."

Yugi smiles. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I think all of us have wanted that, too." He looks more serious. "So…is that it? You have your memories back. Have we done everything we need to do?"

The pharaoh shakes his head, and Yugi catches an adventurous gleam in his eye. "I'm afraid not. There's still much to be done."

"You think so?"

"I know so, but that can all wait for later." Atem stands and slides  _Pharaohs and Sparrows_  back into the empty space on the shelf. Yugi is certain that the action could never have looked so regal in his own body. "For now, I need to get out of this. I did not choose a good outfit to die in."

The thick fabric of the pharaoh's tunic wouldn't seem to mix well at all with the humidity of a Japanese summer. Yugi can't imagine what could have possessed him to dress that way in Egypt at any point in time.

"Do you have any clothes I could borrow?" Yugi only has to glance from the pharaoh's toned biceps to his own spindly arms to get the message across. "Oh. Right. Then do you think they would give you a larger size of your school uniform?"

Yugi gives him a look. "Really?"

"What? It's comfortable."

"Fine then. I'll see if I can get Joey to say he lost his." The thought of telling his friends what happened today suddenly fills Yugi with anxiety and utter excitement, but it's as the pharaoh said: that can wait for later. Right now he needs to get Atem a change of clothes before he dies of heatstroke. "I'm sure there's something in my closet you could wear. Grandpa used to buy everything way too big for me. Come to think of it, he might have been trying to tell me something." He shrugs. "Whatever. Come on."

After closing the door to Grandpa's study behind them, Yugi grins up at the pharaoh with barely contained excitement. "And maybe we can play Duel Monsters afterwards?"

The pharaoh's eyes only gleam that way when he's about to face a worthy opponent. "I accept your challenge."

"We'd have to figure out how to get you your own deck," Yugi starts to say, but when the front door rattles downstairs, they both freeze.

"I'm home, Yugi!" Grandpa calls. He starts to move around in the kitchen directly beneath them, none the wiser that there's an extra body in the house.

Yugi claps a hand to his forehead. "I'm going to have a hard time explaining this one."

* * *

A month later, there aren't two duelists readying their Duel Gliders atop the roof of KaibaCorp. There are three.

"Yugi, I've changed my mind."

"Sorry, Atem. You told me not to let you back down no matter what you said."

"I've changed my mind."

"It's too late for that. You gave me control of your launch for a reason."

"I've changed my mind!"

"You've been practicing on top of the game shop all week, Pharaoh. You can do this. Kaiba would never let you live it down if you gave up. Would you, Kaiba?"

Trying his best not to sound amused, Kaiba says, "Never. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Pharaoh. Don't start today. Besides, KaibaCorp Duel Gliders are the safest hang gliders in the world. It's not like you're going to fall out of the sky."

Yugi smirks. Now that Kaiba has spoken, there's no way the pharaoh's pride will let him quit. "Just believe in the Spirit on the Wind."

"I have a hard time believing in that," the pharaoh replies bitterly.

Nothing has ever surprised Yugi or Atem more than to hear Kaiba say, "It's real. You can count on that."

"Duelists, engage Duel Gliders!" Roland shouts, and the pharaoh has a mini-heart attack.

"Yugi, if I die…"

"…then it'll be easy," Yugi finishes for him, gripping the bar in excitement. "You've already done it once before."

"That's not funny, Yugi."

"Duelists, ready?"

Two confident voices shout, "Ready!" while a weaker third one murmurs, "Ready," a second after them.

"Then let the game begin!"

Kaiba launches his Duel Glider without another thought, but Yugi and Atem stay behind. "I'll do a countdown like in practice, okay?" Yugi says.

"Yugi, seriously. If I die, look in the shoebox under your bed."

"Wh-what? What's in there?"

"You'll see if I die."

Yugi laughs to himself. He'll figure it out later. "You're not going to die, Pharaoh. I promise. Look." He points to the ground, which looks bluer and cushier than usual. "Even if you fall, Roland lined the streets with airbags. Now are you ready?"

Atem gulps. "Just do it."

Yugi can barely contain himself. This is going to be the best Sky Duel ever. "We launch in 3…2… _1_!"

They fly off the top of KaibaCorp and the air whizzes against Yugi's face. From here, Domino City looks like a city made of jewels. When the sun bounces off the rooftops just so and the sky's wind rushes through his hair, Yugi can truly feel alive. A blissful piece washes over him and he sighs through his nose. Yugi wouldn't trade this feeling for the world. He's glad he finally convinced his closest friend to share this with him.

The pharaoh curses in Egyptian.

"Don't look down, Atem," Yugi says over the intercom. He turns sharply to make it around to the other end of KaibaCorp. He gets there to find the pharaoh stiff in his glider, but still in the air. Yugi smiles at the Saqqara Bird pattern on Atem's sail before easing in beside him. "You're doing fine."

It takes Atem a moment to pry his hand off the rail to touch the intercom. "Really?"

"Yeah. Just relax and have fun!"

"Right. Relax and have fun. Relax and have fun."

"I'll see you in the sky."

They part ways and ascend to meet Kaiba, who gives them each severe looks.

"It took you long enough."

"Well we're here now, Kaiba," Yugi shouts. "Let's duel!"

A few turns later, Yugi and the pharaoh are staring down Kaiba's ultimate beast: the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"This feels familiar," Kaiba calls once the Blue-Eyes is done with its new-and-improved dramatic entrance. "Now, who to attack? Both of your monsters are equally pathetic."

"Watapon may be weak, but it's far from useless," Yugi shouts.

"And Kuriboh can be full of surprises."

Kaiba snorts. "Yeah. Sure. I never did like pink, so Blue-Eyes, attack Yugi's Watapon with White Lightning Attack!"

Just before Kaiba's attack would land, two voices pierce the air and ring through the stadium.

"I activate Dragon Capture Jar!"

Yugi was a fraction of a second faster.

* * *

_Next time on the conclusion of "The Domino City Limit," we continue on in the same sky as the one we leave today. Yugi and Atem have gotten the chance to live a normal, peaceful life, but nothing lasts forever. Yugi gets a vision that lets him peer into another sky, and he doesn't like what he sees. Atem has all the answers._


	4. Beyond that Horizon: One Sky, One Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi and Atem go back to set everything right.

Sometimes Atem thinks that Grandpa gives him the more labor-intensive chores because he thinks he's a comedian.  _I'll make the former-pharaoh climb up onto the roof and sweep out the gutter_ , Grandpa must think.  _It'll be hilarious!_  Then Atem remembers the state of Yugi's physique, and decides that there's probably another motive behind it. He'd let Yugi take cash register duty on any day that Grandpa wanted someone to grab one of those plastic crates from the storage room. Booster packs can be deceptively heavy.

There's only one chore that Atem demands to do whenever it becomes necessary to perform, and that's sweeping down the porch. When he was a child, he was obsessed with brooms. There was always something about the rustic action of sweeping that entranced his young mind, but his father wouldn't let him set one finger on a broom. Something about "royal hands" and "calluses being unfit for a king."

Now he can sweep to his heart's content, and so he does, even when the porch is spotless. Hardly anything can distract him while he's carrying out his favorite task, but a jolt of distress from Yugi trumps sweeping any day. He grips the handle and looks up to Yugi's window.

 _Yugi?_ he tries, his shadows reaching out to touch Yugi's mind, but there's no response.

The broom falls against the wall as he throws it aside and rushes upstairs. It could be absolutely anything. He knew they wouldn't live in this easy peace for long.

"Yugi?" he calls, the bedroom door banging against the wall, but when he looks around, nothing seems particularly out of the ordinary. Yugi is over in the easy chair looking more bored than usual, but other than that, everything seems fine.

"Oh."

Both Yugi's hands are gripped tightly around the Millennium Necklace.

Atem skirts along the outer edge of the room to kneel at Yugi's side. He knows from past experience that it's best to avoid that unseeing gaze, but it doesn't stop him from waving a hand in front of Yugi's face. He frowns. The Necklace has him in deep. This is no fleeting vision, and it's no pleasant one either. Not an ounce of emotion flickers in Yugi's dull eyes, but Atem can sense that the vision disturbs him all the same. He tries to enter Yugi's mind and bring him out of it, but the Necklace denies him entrance. He'll just have to wait.

It doesn't take long for the vision to end. Once the Necklace is done showing him what it wants him to see, Yugi blinks, and his first few breaths look painful. The pharaoh places a firm hand on his shoulder. Yugi jumps and jerks his head to the side, relaxing into the folds of the chair once he sees that it's only the pharaoh. Atem's frown only deepens. The Necklace must have consumed Yugi's every attention for him to not sense his presence this close beside him.

"What did you see?" Atem asks, but Yugi doesn't answer right away.

His hand finds its way to his forehead and he seems unable to speak. "Something terrible," he finally whispers. "We were on Duel Gliders and Kaiba…died."

Okay. That wasn't what Atem was expecting, but this could still be a part of the call to destiny he's been waiting for. "The Necklace has been wrong before," he says. "You and I both know that it's possible to change the future."

Yugi sucks in a lungful of air and lets it out to steady his breathing. "That's just it. I don't think it  _was_  the future. You were still in the Puzzle."

Atem's hand ghosts over the Millennium Puzzle around his own neck. It hasn't housed him for over three months. "The Necklace has shown you the past before, has it not?"

"Yeah, but never like this. It was the first day we ever rode the Duel Gliders, only…only I didn't have the right card to stop that first White Lightning Attack." Yugi pauses for a long moment, but Atem doesn't pressure him to go on. Something truly awful must have happened in that vision. "Right before the attack was going to hit me, Kaiba pushed me out of the way."

" _Kaiba_?" Atem blurts, unable to hold back his shock and disbelief.

Yugi nods. "He took the attack for me and fell. All the way to the ground."

"I'm sorry you had to see that," the pharaoh says. He wishes the Necklace could have sent out this particular vision while he was in the room instead of Yugi.

"But that's not what happened at all," Yugi continues as if Atem never spoke. "I don't know why the Millennium Necklace would show me something so horrible."

"Is this the first time the Necklace has shown you a past that's a little different from the way you remember it?"

"No, actually," Yugi replies. He manages not to mention that Kaiba dying is more than a little different from what he remembers. "But it's usually the smaller details that are different. Sometimes Téa is wearing a different shirt than I remember. And…sometimes Kaiba…"

"…has green hair?"

"Yes!" Yugi laughs a little. "Wow. I'm glad you see that too. I thought it was just me and I was going crazy."

The pharaoh smiles and shakes his head, glad that Yugi seems a little more relaxed now. "It's not just you. The Necklace sees all, and there are other worlds to be seen beyond this one."

"'Other worlds'?" Yugi repeats. "What do you mean?"

"Remember when Ishizu faced Kaiba in the Battle City finals and thought she would beat him?" the pharaoh asks. Yugi nods, remembering how Kaiba stared vacantly into space for the longest of time before summoning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "The Millennium Necklace wasn't wrong. In another world, Kaiba really did lose that duel."

"Then…are you saying that in another world, Kaiba died the first day we ever rode Duel Gliders?"

"It would seem so."

Yugi's insides churn. "And there's absolutely nothing we can do about it?"

"That remains to be seen. May I?"

Yugi places the Necklace into the pharaoh's outstretched hand. Although the Millennium Necklace favors Yugi for spur-of-the-moment visions, the pharaoh is more skilled at calling up what he wants to see.

"Interesting," Atem says once the vision has passed. "It seems that past isn't set in stone."

"Really?" Yugi asks, leaning forward in his chair. "How can you tell?"

"I asked the Necklace to show me if there were any moments where that past might play out differently. The vision flickered in several places."

"You can ask the Necklace to do that?"

"You haven't asked Ishizu very much about her experiences with the Millennium Necklace, have you?"

"Uh…no."

The pharaoh gets up and goes to sit on Yugi's bed. "Well, you should." He starts to rummage around under the bed, and Yugi pouts. Sometimes the pharaoh's actions seem like a puzzle. Sometimes Yugi thinks he does it on purpose.

"Okay, then does this mean Kaiba  _might_  not die in that world?"

"It means we have several opportunities to change what happens."

Yugi would ask more questions to try and get Atem to start making sense, but before he has the chance, Atem holds up an old shoebox that he got from under the bed. It's from the time they went down to Duelist Style to get him his very own wardrobe.

"Oh yeah," Yugi says, remembering the pharaoh's words from before their first three-way Sky Duel. "I forgot all about that. What's in there, anyway?"

Atem pulls out a few sheets of paper to inspect them. "Directions to a place you can never find, unless you know exactly how to get there."

"Really? And where might that be?"

Atem comes over and places the shoebox in Yugi's lap. "My family hid away a stash of valuables in case of emergencies. I did the research. No one has found it to this day. Have a look."

Yugi's eyes dart briefly over the hand-drawn maps and written directions before settling back on Atem. "That seems like it would be pretty useful to us even if you weren't dead." Then he has a thought. "Wait, you were really worried that you were going to die that day?"

Atem clears his throat. "I said it's only for emergencies." As if it's an afterthought--though Yugi knows it's not--Atem asks, "Does Grandpa still have those frequent-flyer points?"

"Yeah," Yugi says, his eyebrow lifted with suspicion. Yugi's grandfather recently amassed enough points for two free tickets to Egypt, and the pharaoh knows it. "Atem, what are you planning?"

Atem doesn't answer Yugi's question. "Good. We're going to need them."

* * *

"It just had to be Saqqara."

"What?" Atem says. He holds open the hatch for Yugi to climb through. "No one would have ever dared to look here. They were all too afraid of ghosts and spirits. My grandfather hid it well."

Yugi has to agree that a burial ground is perfect for warding off the prying eyes of everyday people. "And what kept grave robbers and archeologists from digging it up?"

"A spell, of course."

"Of course."

Atem lights the way with his flashlight as Yugi lowers himself into the stone shaft, hands gripped tightly around the rungs of an ancient ladder. He trusts the pharaoh's judgment enough to believe that it's safe to use, but each time it creaks, Yugi can't help but imagine himself tumbling to his doom.

"You're almost at the bottom," Atem calls after a particularly loud creak.

Yugi breathes out a sigh of relief as his foot touches hard stone a moment later. He pulls out his flashlight and clicks it on to inspect the chamber. If Atem hadn't told him otherwise, he'd think it was full of a bunch of ancient Egyptian junk. The space is a just a bit larger than his bedroom back home, boasting a musty smell and an assortment of wooden boxes and degrading linen.

"Are you sure this is treasure?" Yugi asks as Atem touches down beside him.

"Absolutely," Atem replies, holding out his lantern to add more light to the chamber. "My grandfather tried his best to make it all look like something less desirable, in case anyone ever made it this far." It sounds like a good idea in theory, though Yugi highly doubts it would have kept any thief from probing further and robbing the place dry.

The pharaoh steps further into the room and takes a deep breath through his nose, sighing through his mouth. "You have no idea how much this takes me back. It smells just like home." When Yugi looks at him he adds, "If you can get past the smell of dust and death."

Yugi crosses his arms. "You've kept me in the dark long enough, Atem. What's your great plan? And why are we in a gods-forsaken hole in the middle of Saqqara, Egypt?"

"Patience is a virtue, Yugi."

Yugi's eyes narrow and the pharaoh chuckles, though he doesn't doubt that Yugi could attack him at any moment and make it hurt. Finally, he points past a dull tapestry to a heap of sheets in the corner. "That."

"That?" Yugi asks as Atem goes over and grips the worn fabric.

He pulls it off with a dramatic flourish and steps back to stand beside Yugi. "This," he says.

Yugi opens his mouth to say something, but his throat has gone dry. It can't be possible. If the pharaoh is telling the truth, which Yugi knows he is, then that means this has been here for over five thousand years. Yugi's mind is bursting at the seams with questions, but he doesn't voice them. He doesn't have to.

Atem claps a hand onto Yugi's shoulder, flashing a rare, toothy grins. "You'll see."

* * *

Even as his arm screams at him to stop, Yugi reaches to unhook himself from his hang glider, falling painfully to the floor once the harness is unbuckled.

_Yugi._

His leg is still trapped under the Duel Glider, and so Yugi pulls with all of his might until it's free. After shoving the remains of his Duel Glider away, he drags himself along the floor until he's at the very edge of the window.

_Yugi, don't look._

Roland's men are scrambling to inflate the emergency airbag, to put any kind of barrier between Kaiba and an untimely death, but it's too late. Yugi knows they're not going to make it in time.

Kaiba's nosedive turns to a tailspin, blue and silver fluttering in the breeze, and Yugi's throat tightens. His eyes begin to burn.

"Kaiba!"

One moment Kaiba is sailing toward the ground toward imminent doom, and the next, a streak of light zigzags across the sky. Kaiba is gone.

"What happened?" Yugi asks, his eyes darting across the skies. He won't let himself search the ground. "Where is he?"

_Up there._

Yugi looks up just in time as a gust of wind tears through the office. He lifts his arms to shield his eyes from flying debris, and when he looks back up, he can't help the strangled gasp that tears from his chest.

Descending down to the shattered office window is a silver motorcycle. The driver and his companion in the rear seat each have on helmets with visors that conceal their eyes. In the sidecar sits Kaiba, half-conscious and groaning.

"Don't worry," the driver up front says. The man seems familiar to Yugi, and he knows in his gut that he's Egyptian. "We've got him."

Yugi opens his mouth to say something, but his throat has gone dry.

"Here. Catch," the man's companion in the rear seat calls. He tosses a large book and Yugi scrambles to catch it. "Page 34. Diagram 5d. You'll want to read that as soon as you can."

Without another word, the driver revs up the motorcycle and zips toward the ground. Yugi watches as Roland's puzzled men catch their master from the sky. On their way up, the driver and his companion salute to Yugi with two fingers before disappearing into the horizon.

_…What just happened?_

"I don't know."

_The man up front seemed interesting._

"They both seemed interesting to me," Yugi replies. Still on his knees, he looks down to the book they tossed him. "' _Pharaohs and Sparrows_ '? I've seen this before in Grandpa's study." He starts to flip through the pages. "I wonder what's so important about page 34?" He almost thinks he's on the wrong page. "The Saqqara Bird? What does that have to do with anything?"

Without warning, the pharaoh takes control and grips the book tightly.

"Pharaoh? What's wrong?"

The Millennium Puzzle begins to burn against Yugi's chest, and the pharaoh swallows. "My name…is Atem."

* * *

"I still don't get why this was in your emergency stash," Yugi calls as they sail above the clouds.

"We never had to use it," Atem says. "But we had it just in case there was ever an invasion."

"So that you could escape through time and space?"

"Exactly. No one would have ever been able to follow us."

"I see."

Atem swerves the hovercycle to avoid a flock of birds. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Actually, I have a confession to make," Yugi admits.

"What?"

"While you were getting the plane tickets ready with Grandpa, the Millennium Necklace sent me another vision."

"What?" Atem's knuckles tighten around the handlebars. "What did you see this time?"

"It wasn't that bad," Yugi assures him. "You were still in the Puzzle and you were having a hard time getting over your fear of heights. The vision flickered a bunch of times." Yugi jabs his finger out in a thumbs up. "We could help us out and be back before dinner. What do you think?"

"There's a reason we brought three copies of  _Pharaohs and Sparrows_." Although Yugi can't see it, the pharaoh grins. "Let's go."

Yugi slides open a panel set into the back of Atem's seat and enters "March 4th, 1998" into the keypad. Once everything is set and ready, Atem revs up the hovercycle and Yugi holds on tight. They zip forward and disappear into a vortex in the sky.

* * *

_So ends "The Domino City Limit." To make it beyond that horizon, they only had to dig a little and find the determination to change another sky's destiny. The sky is not a limit. It's only a thin barrier. Until next time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who made it this far and read all the way to the end! This is the longest Yu-Gi-Oh! work I've ever written, and it's purely the product of me thinking, "What's the most random thing you can think of? Hang gliders? Oh, okay. Let's go!" It was only supposed to be that first chapter, but I couldn't stop writing. It just kept going! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And just so you know, this MIGHT not be the end of "The Domino City Limit." I know I left a few questions hanging at the end, and they're calling out to be answered! So I foresee a sequel in the future. Maybe not the near future, but someday! Thanks again for sticking with this story until the very end. See you soon!


End file.
